Season 2 Episode 2: Respect

Intentional Partnerships

On today’s episode, we build on last week’s discussion about trust to talk about respect. These two values are some of the most important, but least understood when trying to meaningfully engage with families. This is because, even though respect is such a widely held value, its realization is highly specific to a particular family and each individual within the family. Ultimately respect comes in understanding the importance of this context and not imposing your own definitions and values on a family, but rather finding a way to mediate the two ways of thinking. Due to respect being so subjective, it is important to define what it means for each person from the outset to gain a clearer insight into what people need. In doing so, we can show a greater level of respect for them. We give some examples of how to show respect during home visits and in times of conflicts with school administration. Often in new situations, showing respect can be difficult, but it a skill we can continue to grow and nurture. Next week, we will be talking about responsibility, so join us for that!

Key Points From This Episode:

• The meaning of respect is highly specific to each family context.
• As professionals, we cannot impose our definitions of respect on families.
• Not understanding where people come from and what informs their thinking is disrespectful.
• What other people are doing is right for them within their context and culture.
• Importantly, respect should not be conflated with liking someone and their rules.
• Unpacking the duality of mutual respect as professionals who work with families.
• Some small ways to show respect for families when doing home visits.
• Part of respect is being comfortable in people’s homes, which may be different from yours.
• Relishing in our differences, rather than judging ultimately leads to greater respect.
• How body language is an important signifier of respect for families.
• Ask questions that help you to get to know families better so you can respect them fully.
• Some questions to ask to get past conflict with school administration.
• Serving children is the most important thing as a professional.
• Try to understand how someone else views actions you think are ‘right.’
• And much more!

Tweetables:

“The respect goes down to the family unit, not a broader cultural context, not a broader neighborhood context, not a broader racial or ethnic context.” — @TheJMichaelHall [0:02:19]

“Being a professional in this, is you’re here to serve children. And the best way to serve children is to respect where they come from and their families and help that family raise a child within their parameters, not within ours.” — @TheJMichaelHall [0:21:02]

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

J Michael Hall

Michael on Twitter

Lindsey Shah

Lindsey on Twitter

Strong Fathers Strong Families

Parents as Teachers